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The Illusion of Realism

Summarizing Sapir · Published Wednesday, June 10, 2026
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JL;DR SUMMARY The article argues against the dichotomy between ideals and realism in American foreign policy, highlighting how this division, popularized by thinkers like Hans Morgenthau and Henry Kissinger, is misleading and dangerous. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Cold War  Henry Kissinger  American Foreign Policy  International Relations  Realism  Ideals  Hans Morgenthau  John Mearsheimer  Stephen Walt 

Places mentioned

United States
"In the United States, the case for so-called realism was advanced with particular effect and considerable subtlety by two Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, Hans Morgenthau and Henry Kissinger, both of whom viewed Americans as generally nave about the hard realities of the world."
Jerusalem, Israel
"Nor did they see a connection between Israels extraordinarily outsized military capacity and the kind of society it has, leading them to the absurdity of wishing to weaken the American relationship with the most powerful state in the Middle East."
Mexico
"He dispatched the U.S. Marines to Veracruz, Mexico, in 1914 to intervene in a civil war and sent General John J. Pershings cavalry into Mexico in 1916 to suppress raids across the border."
United Kingdom
"But he also squeezed Great Britain out of imperial trade preference and got the U.K.s most valuable bases in the Western Hemisphere in exchange for giving them 50 obsolete destroyers."
Iraq
"George W. Bushs administration spoke the language of democracy and liberation in launching the second war with Iraq in 2003."
Canada
"Think of the invasion of Canada in the War of 1812, the invasion of Mexico in 1846, or the Indian Wars throughout the 19th century."
South Korea
"World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Iraq War, and more have been fought primarily against regimes that were not merely dictatorships but also egregious violators of basic rights."
Vietnam
"World War I and II, Korea, Vietnam, the Iraq War, and more have been fought primarily against regimes that were not merely dictatorships but also egregious violators of basic rights."
Afghanistan
"One of the unfortunate consequences of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the first decades of this century has been the definition of values in foreign policy chiefly in terms of democracy, or rather its most elementary form: elections."
Russian Federation
"As was the case with Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the Communist bloc throughout the Cold War, and Russia and China today, regimes that have no scruples about the rule of law can and will use propaganda and subversion to do their best to undermine American self-confidence and norms of self-governance."
China
"As was the case with Nazi Germany in the 1930s, the Communist bloc throughout the Cold War, and Russia and China today, regimes that have no scruples about the rule of law can and will use propaganda and subversion to do their best to undermine American self-confidence and norms of self-governance."
Iran
"Today, Americas chief opponentsenemies in some casesare the dictatorships of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea as well as violent Islamist movements such as ISIS."
North Korea
"Today, Americas chief opponentsenemies in some casesare the dictatorships of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea as well as violent Islamist movements such as ISIS."
Australia
"Its most important alliesits NATO partners, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and Israel, among othersare liberal democracies in some form or other."

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Cairo Item ID 84483
Cairo Source ID 29
Retrieved 2026-06-10 05:31:55 UTC
Curated 2026-06-10 08:31:02 UTC